tl;dr scroll to the bottom and take my poll <3
I’m in the middle of writing a ghost story. It's a typical enough premise - a young woman moves to a new town; she's reinventing herself a year after her girlfriend’s sudden death. The woman is a sculptor, and she’s received grant money to make a series of pieces about American suburbia, so she relocates to Levittown for research/inspiration. While learning about the history of the town, she discovers a women died in the house she’s currently renting and becomes obsessed, convinced the house is haunted. And maybe it is, or maybe the real ghosts were the specter of the American Dream and the grief we repressed along the way, etc etc…
This is my long-winded way of saying: 1. I’ve been thinking a lot about ghosts lately, and 2. if you’re a literary agent, please email me.
I’ve loved ghost stories for a long time. I never wanted to go to sleepaway camp, but I did always admire it as the definitive source of scary stories for middle class kids in New Jersey. Instead of going myself, I would collect ghost stories at recess from my friends who did. The school itself was rumored to be haunted, both by the ghost of Chief Tuscan, who we falsely believed had been buried under the playground, and another, vaguer spirit that reportedly lived in one of the girls bathrooms. (This bathroom was eventually renovated, and, no longer dirty and poorly lit, was not called “the haunted bathroom” anymore.)
I liked looking for other “real” ghost stories too. I grew up in a state with a lot of reported paranormal activity and its own cryptid, which I could easily read about on Weird NJ with my cooler after school babysitter. As soon as my sister and I were old enough that our parents let us watch TV unsupervised after dinner, we more often than not used our precious hour of TV time watching reruns of Ghost Hunters on the Travel Channel. We became obsessed with the flashlight test, where ghosts would answer questions by turning a flashlight on or off. We were always skeptical, but this seemed like some pretty good proof to a 12- and 14-year-old.
(This flashlight test clip is from Destination America’s Ghost Asylum, which I have never seen and therefore do not endorse, but the introductory warning that “chasing ghosts without proper training will get you killed” is really something.)
I never grew out of my fascination with ghosts, but I never became any more or less convinced of their reality either. I’ve taken the Ghosts of Georgetown walking tour. I’ve watched the phenomenal Ghost Brothers reality show. I have lots of thoughts on Mike Flanagan’s oeuvre. And I still don’t believe in ghosts, but only just barely.
There is a certainty to both sides – the skeptics and the believers – that I just can’t commit to. I think there are strange, unexplainable things that happen in the world. I have no beliefs about what happens when we die, and while lingering on as a spirit seems unlikely to me, ceasing to exist entirely is incomprehensible.
Many people who have had paranormal experiences describe an elusive feeling as part of their proof – the feeling that someone else was in the room with them, even when they were alone. I’ve heard an old house settle at night, I’ve played Bloody Mary and felt that creepy back-of-the-neck fear, I’ve watched the street lamps flicker out in front of a haunted house in Georgetown, but I’ve never felt a ghost.
I want to believe in the supernatural, but I’ve never experienced it, and I’m not the kind of person who’s able to get by on faith alone.
I’ve always been jealous of the people who are. In 2019, an IPSOS poll found that 46% of Americans believed in ghosts. Surprisingly, that number has been increasing over time, up from 32% in 2005 and 25% in 1990. Some researchers believe the increase is due to a concurrent rise in atheism and agnosticism. Unscientifically, I wonder if internet communities like r/paranormal and the widespread popularity of reality shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures might be at least partially responsible as well.
I also wonder who these believers are. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe in ghosts, while women are more likely than men. What about big city leftist queers? Extremely online artists? Hip, substack-reading zillenials? What about you?
Do you believe in ghosts? And just how sure are you that you’re right?
I’m still saying no, but I’m not so sure. If you live in a haunted house, invite me over.
xoxo
Franny 💋 👻
p.s. if you’re one of the eleven people who subscribed to kitsch connoisseur yesterday, after a little lull in new subs, hi! where did you guys come from? please comment/reply via email, i am truly so curious!